So tall!

At Conor's two year checkup he was 38 inches tall.  In May of this year  he was 38 and a half inches tall.  As of August 10th, Conor is 41.5 inches tall.  That's three inches of growth in just over 3 months!  No wonder he's been a bit of pill this summer.  He's probably been in pain as his little bones stretch and grow.

Dinner Calendar

Thanks to everyone who suggested frozen dinner ideas. I took lots of ideas and compiled them into this Dinner Calendar.

I'll be cooking away this weekend! Wish me luck. :)

Michelle - can you send me your recipe for baked ziti?
Kristen - can you send me your recipe for french onion soup?

thanks!

Dinner's In The Freezer

I've found that the hardest part of having two kids is getting dinner on the table by the time Morgan gets home from work. Now, let me be clear, I'm no June Cleaver and Morgan no more expects me to have dinner waiting for him than I expect him to rub my feet every night (oh, wait...). But, as Morgan generally gets home from work after 6pm it would be nice to at least have dinner on its way. I mean, most nights I haven't even figured out what I'm going to make.

Its made for some very late dinners and, consequently, some very late bedtimes. All around it throws off our schedule and its just not working for us. We've gone out to dinner SO many times recently because I've got my hands full with kids and just can't get to dinner by dinner time.

I figured a good solution to this little dilemma would be to have a stock pile of meals in the freezer for those (very frequent) nights when I"m too busy to get dinner going. I looked at going to one of those make-your-dinner places but at $300 for 12 meals, my frugal heart threatened to explode. I just can't do it.

So then I Googled "freezer dinners" and came up with a bunch of websites that either want you to subscribe for monthly recipes or go out and buy a book. Seriously, I just want a bunch of recipes for casseroles and such that I can make on a Saturday and freeze to eat. Why is the internet failing me???

Perhaps you, my bloggy friends, can pick up where the internet has left off. What recipes do you and your family love? What is easy to prepare and freeze?

Please help.

Sincerely,

Tired of Chicken Nuggets

What do these people have in common?

My midwife
My friend
The manager at Oswego Grill
Another friend's friend
The people from the East Coast I met today
My other friend's Mom's co-worker
Me

All these people either have a child (boy or girl) named Finley or have considered or are planning on naming their daughter Finley.

Seriously?  Finley was a brand new, never before heard of name only 6 months ago.  I swear!

I truly thought Finley was the most original name ever when we picked it for Finley.  I had honestly never heard it before and was sure that my Finley would be the only Finley in her Kindergarten class.

My best friend and I share the same name so I suppose its not the end of the world that she will be one of many, however I had really hoped that...I don't know.  I guess I just hoped she would be the only one.

Night Singing

Since Conor was very little we've had a fairly consistent bedtime routine.  Basically, three stories, a couple songs and kisses.  Conor, for his part, generally includes an hour of banging around in his bed but that's not part of this story.

Being the creature of habit that he is, Conor has been requesting the same three stories and the same song for about the last year or so.  Recently, we added a new song "Baby Beluga" and then, just a couple weeks ago, Conor requested that I sing, as he called it, "the Opa and Grandma" song.

Those of you who know my dad know that he is a wee bit tone deaf.  You also know that it doesn't bother him one little bit and he frequently with burst forth in song to the delight or chagrin of those around him.  Whether you react with delight or chagrin depends entirely on how uptight the listener is.  But again, that's not part of this story.

Back to Conor's bedroom and his request for the Opa and Grandma song.  when one pictures a child's grandparent singing night time songs one would likely think of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star or perhaps another child-like nighttime song.  Not Opa though.  Nope, when Conor requested the Opa and Grandma song I knew immediately he meant what I have always thought of as the "In 1814" song.



Singing that song to Conor, surely not your typical bedtime song, I flew right back to childhood.  I remember Dad singing that song, ad nasauem, on road trips, at home, in front of my friends (Oh my gosh, Dad!  You are, like, so embarrassing!).  It was a quick little trip down memory lane.

Just one of the many joys of having children is revisiting your own childhood.  Even if it is a goofy song, sung off key, in front of your friends.  A family tradition lives on.
  

Rationalization

Did you know that fidgeting burns 300 calories a day? 
And recently I have been shake, shake, shaking my body (in a very fidgety way) to soothe this here baby of mine. 
So much so that I would estimate I've burned 900 calories a day in fidgeting alone. 
That, combined with the 500 calories I burn from breastfeeding comes to a total of of 1400 calories. 
If you add that to the the 1500 calories a day that I'm supposed to be consuming you get 2900 calories.  And you should really round that up to 3000 because who likes odd numbers? 
And so, since I should be consuming 3000 calories a day, it makes perfect sense that I ate 15 Chips Ahoy cookies in less that two days.

Buh-Bam!  Rationalization.

Bits of Finley

S

See that pinky finger?  That's one her Dad's wrapped around.

Is there anything cuter than baby toes?

(Almost) blue eyes.  At least for the time being.

Which is which?

My babies.  I think, despite the crying and sleepless nights and spit up and nursing bras, I think I'm going to miss this when its gone.  I miss that second little guy already.

Baby Vegas!

Have I told you about Baby Vegas?  After 155 posts, I can't remember what I've talked about and what I haven't.

When Conor was just a few weeks old he received a present from my Aunt Geralyn.  Its one of these:

Sure, from this angle it doesn't look too Vegas-y, does it?  But see where her eyes are focused?

Yeah!  Now, imagine it flashing different colored lights and playing music!  Ok, if you're prone to seizures, this toy could be trouble, but for babies - yee haw!  Its Baby Vegas. baby!

Mom!  This toy is strangely fascinating AND terrifying.  I love it!

Conor loved it too!

Wait, who is who?  Dang, these kids look a lot alike!

Where does the time go?

I can't believe its been so long since I've posted regularly. I knew having a baby would take up lots of time but I didn't realize just how quickly the days would go by. I have half a dozen posts milling around in my head but I don't seem to be able to make the time to get them down on paper (or screen - whatever).

Please bear with me as I get used to this new lifestyle. I hope to continue to post with some regularity in the future. For now though, I'll be fairly sporadic. At least until I can figure out some type of schedule.

Also, part three of Finley is both boring and overly dramatic. More yucky stuff with the placenta, an unexpected surgery and some good drugs. I'm all better now though so telling the full details seems superfluous (YES! I never get to use big words!).

Oops, baby calls. Off I go.